White House Cabinet aide resigns

A lawyer who has served as a top aide to President Barack Obama since he embarked on his campaign for the Senate a decade ago, Danielle Gray, is leaving the White House.

In a written statement Monday, Obama paid tribute to Gray, who presently coordinates policy and communications with federal agencies as cabinet secretary.

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“Over the past decade, I’ve come to rely on Danielle’s brilliant legal mind, her mastery of complex policy, her sense of humor, her fundamental decency, and her passionate, persistent understanding of the hopes, dreams and challenges of the Americans we have the privilege to fight for,” the president said. “Danielle has been instrumental in shaping policies that have helped grow our economy and create good jobs, ensuring that our veterans get the economic opportunities they deserve, helping to craft my American Jobs Act proposal and confirming two extraordinarily qualified women to the Supreme Court.”

Gray has served in a series of White House posts including deputy director of the National Economic Council and associate counsel to the President. She’ll depart after the State of the Union address, scheduled for Jan. 28, and is expected to teach and take a job in the private sector, a White House official said.

Obama, who averted earlier attempts by Gray to leave the administration, signaled that he plans to keep tapping her for advice even after she’s no longer on the payroll.

“As Cabinet Secretary and a close adviser to me, she has not only helped make sure every agency in the federal government remains focused on giving hardworking Americans a fair shot at opportunity, but that our policies reflect the values we have always fought for. While I will miss Danielle, I will continue to rely on her counsel, and I look forward to watching her help push our legal system and our country in the direction of justice for years to come,” the president said.

In addition to the White House positions, Gray also did a stint as a top adviser in the Justice Department’s Civil Division, working on defense of the Affordable Care Act — better known as Obamacare.

Like Obama, Gray is a graduate of Harvard Law School. After law school, she served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and as an associate at the Skadden Arps law firm.